Maybe I should be a DR!

So I finally had my Apt. at New England Baptist Hospital (it was a 3 month wait to get this apt) but it was worth the wait..I finally got some answers.  My biggest question I have had since this first began is ...WHY???  WHY did my hip tear while I was working out..(no trauma happened during the work out)...WHY did it happen again less than two years later...WHY did I never get any true relief from either one of my surgeries where I felt like I was my "normal" self again....WHY am I having a problem w/ my psoas tendon and sciatic nerve which I did not have prior to my first surgery..The answer....DRUM ROLL PLEASE

Impingement: Pincer FAI

What is it?

"Femoroacetabular impingement or FAI is a condition of too much friction in the hip joint.  Basically, the ball (femoral head) and socket (acetabulum) rub abnormally creating damage to the hip joint.  The damage can occur to the articular cartilage (smooth white surface of the ball or socket) or the labral cartilage (soft tissue bumper of the socket).

FAI generally occurs as two forms: Cam and Pincer.  The Cam form (Cam comes from the Dutch word meaning “cog”) describes the femoral head and neck relationship as aspherical or not perfectly round.  This loss of roundness contributes to abnormal contact between the head and socket.  The Pincer form (Pincer comes from the French word meaning “to pinch”) describes the situation where the socket or acetabulum has too much coverage of the ball or femoral head.  This over-coverage typically exists along the front-top rim of the socket (acetabulum) and results in the labral cartilage being “pinched” between the rim of the socket and the anterior femoral head-neck junction.  The Pincer form of the impingement is typically secondary to “retroversion”, a turning back of the socket, or “profunda”, a socket that is too deep.  Most of the time, the Cam and Pincer forms exist together.

FAI is associated with cartilage damage, labral tears, early hip arthritis, hyperlaxity, sports hernias, and low back pain.

FAI is common in high level athletes, but also occurs in active individuals."

So lets call My new Dr...um lets see...Dr. Brilliant!  So Dr. Brilliant did x-rays of my hip..used his fancy plasma style flat screen monitor and showed me exactly where my hip is "troubled" I could actually see the hip impingement. This is why my hip keeps re tearing.... yes it is torn again....this is why I am in pain constantly....this is why I am not "fixed" yet, because they didn't actually fixed the problem in the other two surgeries..they only fixed the symptoms and the damage from the problem.

I can't even begin to express my frustration from this realization..if I did this would be the never ending blog post....so instead my advice to anyone who may be going through a similar situation is don't give up..keep pressing for answers..get second, third ,or even a fourth opinion until you get someone who will dive into your case and look at it at from all angles. Dr's are human and they make mistakes....no matter what, you know your body better than anyone else and you know when something truly feels wrong. I have always asked this question of WHY to both my surgeons and I never got a real answer......until Dr. Brilliant.

The  reason I called this post "Maybe I should be a Dr." is because two years ago after my first surgery when I wasn't feeling better I did A LOT of research on hips and I thought FAI is what I had..but my surgeons at the time said no.  I guess in the end I was right!  If I were still talking to my other surgeons I would totally say.."I told you so"  hmmmm on second thought maybe I will....... ;)

So Now I am looking at another surgery...This time fixing the actual problem.  It's a much bigger surgery than my last two, but hopefully this will be the last.  But learning from my own mistakes I do have two more apts set up for second and third opinion before I let anyone cut into me again.  In the meantime I got two cortisone injections. One for Bursitis of my hip (4 weeks ago) and one two days ago into my psoas tendon because I have developed extreme iliopsoas tendinitis due to my hip.  Hopefully this will help w/ the pain while I wait to make my next decision.

On another note I had a Happy Hipster Birthday this week ..Even w/out being able to dance w/ my friends, or wear heels w/ my dress, or even being comfortable sitting down..I still had a lot of fun, because I fed off the energy of my friends and family which in turn made for a very  very happy birthday!

Also having a birthday makes you realize all the good things you have in your life ..that you survived another year through the good and the bad (and besides my hip my year has been great) and it also is a new start for a new year, new hope, and new adventures..so hopefully this will even be a healthier and happier year for me.

Thank You to all my friends and family for making my birthday very special and for always being there for me! xoxox